AI Overview Summary
Your First Home is a new government equity loan scheme for first-time buyers in England, announced on 26 September 2026. Buyers are expected to need a deposit of just 2.5%, backed by a 20% government equity loan with an initial interest-free period, when buying a new-build home from a developer signed up to the scheme. The household income cap, local property price caps and launch date will be confirmed at the Budget.
⚠ New-build homes only
Your First Home cannot be used to buy an older or previously owned home. It only applies to new-build properties from participating developers. If you are hoping to buy an existing house or flat, you will need a standard mortgage or another type of support.
If the deposit has been the thing standing between you and your first home, this weekend’s announcement is worth paying attention to. The government has confirmed that a new version of Help to Buy is coming, called Your First Home. The headline numbers are simple. The detail, including who qualifies and when you can apply, is not out yet.
One point to be clear on from the start: Your First Home is for new-build homes only. You cannot use it to buy an existing or second-hand property. The home must be newly built and sold by a developer that has signed up to the scheme.
This guide sets out exactly what has been officially announced, what has been reported but not confirmed, and what the scheme is likely to mean for the legal side of your purchase. We are a conveyancing firm, so that last part is where we can add something the news coverage does not.
AI Overview Summary
Your First Home is an equity loan scheme. The government lends you 20% of the price of a new-build home, you put down at least 2.5%, and a mortgage covers the remaining 77.5%. It is limited to first-time buyers in England buying from participating developers.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government announced the scheme on Saturday 26 September 2026, ahead of the Labour Party conference. It is designed to tackle the deposit barrier for first-time buyers who could not otherwise afford a home, and to support new-build supply at a time when housebuilders are facing rising costs.
It follows the same basic structure as the old Help to Buy equity loan, which closed to new applications in October 2022. The key differences are a lower minimum deposit, a household income cap and a fee paid by developers who sign up.
AI Overview Summary
Confirmed: 2.5% deposit, 20% equity loan, new-build only, first-time buyers, England, initial interest-free period, developer contribution. Still to come at the Budget: the income cap, local price caps, the length of the interest-free period, costs and the launch timetable.
Because the scheme was announced before its rules were published, a lot of what is circulating online is guesswork. Here is where each element stands, based on the official government press release.
| Scheme element | Status | What we know |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum deposit | Announced | 2.5% of the purchase price |
| Equity loan | Announced | 20% of the property value, government-backed |
| Eligible buyers | Announced | First-time buyers |
| Eligible homes | Announced | New-build homes from developers signed up to the scheme |
| Location | Announced | England |
| Interest-free period | Partly announced | An initial interest-free period, length not yet confirmed |
| Household income cap | Due at Budget | Level to be set out at the Budget |
| Property price caps | Due at Budget | Local caps, levels to be set out at the Budget |
| Developer contribution | Partly announced | Developers pay to join; amount not confirmed |
| Launch date and registration | Due at Budget | Implementation timeline to be announced by the Chancellor |
⚠ Watch out for unconfirmed figures
Some coverage quotes a £600,000 price cap and a five-year interest-free period. Neither appears in the government’s announcement. Both match the old Help to Buy scheme, so they may simply have been carried over by mistake. Do not plan your budget around them until the Budget confirms the real figures.
AI Overview Summary
On a £250,000 new build, Your First Home would mean a £6,250 deposit, a £50,000 equity loan and a £193,750 mortgage. A standard 95% mortgage on the same home needs a £12,500 deposit and a £237,500 mortgage.
The table below shows the split at three price points, assuming the full 20% equity loan and the minimum 2.5% deposit. These are illustrations only. Your actual eligibility will depend on the income and price caps, and on what a lender will offer you.
| New-build price | Your 2.5% deposit | 20% equity loan | Your mortgage (77.5%) | Deposit with a 95% mortgage instead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £200,000 | £5,000 | £40,000 | £155,000 | £10,000 |
| £250,000 | £6,250 | £50,000 | £193,750 | £12,500 |
| £300,000 | £7,500 | £60,000 | £232,500 | £15,000 |
The smaller mortgage is where the monthly saving comes from. The trade-off is that the equity loan still has to be repaid. Under the old Help to Buy scheme, you repaid the same percentage of the home’s value at the time of repayment, not the original cash amount. So if your home rose in value, so did the amount you owed. We expect the new scheme to work the same way, but the repayment terms have not yet been published.
AI Overview Summary
Compared with the 2021 to 2023 Help to Buy equity loan, Your First Home halves the minimum deposit from 5% to 2.5% and adds a household income cap. Both are for first-time buyers of new builds in England with a 20% equity loan.
| Your First Home (announced 2026) | Help to Buy Equity Loan (2021 to 2023) | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum deposit | 2.5% | 5% |
| Equity loan | 20% | 20% (40% in London) |
| Who could use it | First-time buyers | First-time buyers |
| Type of home | New build, participating developers | New build, registered developers |
| Price caps | Local caps, due at Budget | Regional caps, e.g. £255,600 in the West Midlands, £600,000 in London |
| Income cap | Yes, level due at Budget | None |
| Interest-free period | Yes, length due at Budget | First five years |
| Developer fee | Yes | No |
The West Midlands cap under the last scheme is a useful reminder that regional limits can be much lower than the headline London figure. If the new local caps follow a similar pattern, buyers in Birmingham, Solihull and the surrounding area should check the local limit carefully before reserving a plot.
AI Overview Summary
An equity loan purchase involves more legal work than a standard purchase: extra scheme paperwork, a second charge registered against your home, strict time limits and the usual new-build issues. Your solicitor needs to manage all of these against the developer’s exchange deadline.
Most coverage of Your First Home stops at the deposit maths. The part that decides whether your purchase actually completes on time is the legal work. The official guidance for conveyancers has not been published yet, but based on how the previous Help to Buy scheme worked, this is what we expect your solicitor to handle.
Under the old scheme, buyers needed an Authority to Proceed from the Help to Buy agent before exchanging contracts, and that authority had an expiry date. Your solicitor submitted scheme forms at exchange and completion. If a deadline was missed, the purchase could stall. We expect a similar approval step under Your First Home.
The government’s loan was secured against the property as a second charge behind your mortgage and registered at HM Land Registry. Your solicitor has to explain what that means for you, including what happens when you sell, remortgage or want to pay the loan off early.
Developers often expect contracts to be exchanged within a set number of weeks of reservation. On a scheme purchase, that clock runs alongside your mortgage offer and the scheme approval. A solicitor who knows the process can run these in parallel rather than one after another.
In England, first-time buyers pay no Stamp Duty on the first £300,000 and 5% on the portion from £300,001 to £500,000. If the price is over £500,000, first-time buyer relief does not apply at all. Under the old Help to Buy scheme, Stamp Duty was calculated on the full purchase price, not just the part you paid for, and we expect the same here.
⚠ Don’t pay a reservation fee on the strength of the headlines
Some developers may start marketing homes as “Your First Home ready” before the rules are confirmed. Reservation fees are often non-refundable. Until the income cap, price caps and developer list are published, you cannot be sure you or the home will qualify. Ask your solicitor to check the reservation agreement before you pay anything.
Thinking about buying a new build with Your First Home?
Our conveyancing team can talk you through the legal steps now, so you are ready to move as soon as the scheme opens.
Get a clear, fixed conveyancing quote from NPS Law at nps-law.co.uk
AI Overview Summary
Before the Budget: work out your 2.5% deposit plus moving costs, speak to a mortgage broker about lending at 77.5% of the price, and line up a conveyancing solicitor. Do not commit money to a developer until the scheme rules are confirmed.
AI Overview Summary
NPS Law is a specialist conveyancing and probate firm acting for clients across England and Wales, with an office in Solihull. We are publishing and updating this guide because scheme purchases succeed or fail on legal deadlines, and we want buyers to understand that side before they commit.
You will see plenty of adverts offering free or rock-bottom conveyancing quotes. For a standard purchase, price may be the main thing that separates firms. For a new-build equity loan purchase, it is not. The headline quote often leaves out new-build and scheme supplements, and a delay caused by a missed scheme deadline or a lender query can cost far more than any saving on fees.
Here is what we think matters, and what we offer:
It is very similar. Both give first-time buyers a 20% government equity loan on a new-build home. Your First Home lowers the minimum deposit to 2.5%, adds a household income cap and asks developers to pay a fee to take part.
Not yet. The government has said the costs and implementation timeline will be set out at the Budget in October 2026. Some reports suggest registration could open by the end of 2026, but this has not been officially confirmed.
No. As announced, the scheme only covers new-build homes bought from developers who have signed up to it.
The scheme has been announced for England. Buyers in Wales should check what support the Welsh Government offers. NPS Law acts on purchases in both England and Wales.
You need a solicitor who is on your lender’s panel and understands equity loan purchases. Scheme paperwork, the second charge and developer deadlines all add work, so experience with new builds and previous schemes makes a real difference to how smoothly your purchase goes.
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Speak to NPS Law about your new-build purchase. We act for buyers across England and Wales.
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